"French, German, and Polish Foreign Ministers, Jean-Noel Barrot, Johann Wadephul, and Radoslaw Sikorski, urged a Free Trade Agreement between the European Union (EU) and India at a joint press conference with their Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on Wednesday in Paris. “There's no such thing as a Collective West. There's no such thing as a Global South. There are, but nations who can dialogue for their mutual interests,” Barrot stated. “A major agreement between the EU and India is underway, and will amount in the next few weeks in a summit on the 27th of January, and that will be a decisive point in the strategic rapprochement between our two spaces and that sends a message: Europe is aware of the sheer scale of the challenges it faces, and is organising in order to confront them,” he continued. Top European diplomats emphasised the importance of the European ‘security and defence’ of the deal that is expected to be signed at the upcoming European Summit with India on January 27. “We have a duty to ensure that Europe be in a position to defend its security interests autonomously. Now, we are not seeking isolation or to undertake unilateral initiatives. We shall rely on our strength, which is unity, and we want to further our partnerships with other countries,” Germany’s Wadephul stated. “India is not just an important trade partner, it is a central player in the global security architecture. Together, we shoulder a responsibility to maintain a stable international order in the Indo-Pacific region,” he added. The Indian External Affairs Minister voiced hope that despite Europe’s ‘challenging circumstances’,  the EU-Indian partnership will continue to strengthen. “Among India's major relationships, I believe that the one with the European Union and Europe, and obviously with its member states, has the most room to grow today. We have tremendous unrealised potential and many new areas to explore,” he said. The EU is believed to be India’s largest trading partner, with the bloc’s countries in total accounting for 124 billion euros (130 billion dollars) of trade in 2023 - about 12 percent of Indian trade. Meanwhile, India covers two percent of the EU trade, ranking of the bloc's ninth-largest trading partner. S Jaishankar is on an official visit to France and Luxembourg from January 4 to 9."